Washing-machine



.fttorneys/ T E ha,

N m D.. u A H G m A M w I l ...mr u wer In. u... Inn? z. O N WV//J-V/vmm um lln H D. S .all m A M (No Model WITWESSES PATENT FFIGE.

NORMAN D. oLrPI-IANT, oF MEADE, KANsAs.

WASHING- MACHINE.

srncIFIcATroN forming part of Letters 'Patent No. 412,533, dated octobers, 1889. Application led April 13, 1889. Serial No. 307,177. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern.-

, Beit known thatl,NoRMAN D. OLIPHANT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Meade, in the county of Meade and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and usefullmprovements in Washing-Machines; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of theinven tion, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in washing-machines of that classwhich employ a rotary cylinder operating within a stationary tub orreceptacle; and it consists of the peculiar construction, combination,and ar-y rangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved washing-machinewhich can be operated with a minimum effort to rapidly and thoroughlycleanse the fabrics contained within the rotary cylinder, which machineshall combine simplicity and durability of construction, efficiency ofoperation, and cheapness of manufacture. v A further object of myinvention is to provide the Washing-machine with a cylinder of novelYform, having an opening in one side thereof for the introduction orremoval ,of the fabrics, formed by individual bars which are hinged tothe cylinder and capable of being lifted or raised to an upright,inclined position. When so raised, these hinged bars project or extendbeyond'the tub or vessel, and the hinges which connect these bars to therotary cylinder lie' at right angles to the plane of rotation of thecylinder, whereby said bars are adapted to impinge against the sideedges of the opening in the tub, and thus prevent the rotary cylinderfrom turning on its axis when the attendant is engaged in the operationof placing fabrics in or removing them from the cylinder, which ishighly desirable. These hinged bars are adapted to be folded so as toform a part of the rotary cylinder,

- and thus close the opening' in the side thereof; and said bars aresecured ,in place by sliding sleeves, which can be expeditiously andeasily operated. j

To enable others to understand my invention, I will now proceed to adetailed description thereof in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in whichf Figure l is a perspective view showing the hingedbars in an elevated position to permit the fabrics to be placed in thecylinder. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the machine,showing in full lines the hinged bars closed to form a part of thecylinder and in the dotted lines the bars raised or elevated. Fig. 3 isa central longitudinal sectional view.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all thefigures, in whichl designates the stationary tub or receptacle of myimproved washing-machine. This tub or receptacle is preferably made inthe shape of a vcylinder or barrehand it is supported in a horizontalposition by suitable legs 2. At its ends the barrel-shaped receptacle isprovided with closed heads 3, in which are secured metallic bearings orboxes 4that support the gudgeons or trunnions 5 6 of a rotary cylinder 7,one of said trunnions being extended 'through' its bearing and the headofthe tub to which said bearing is fixed, vand receiving a'crank-handle'8, that serves as the means forv applying power to rotate the cylinder7. This receptacle is further provided in its upper side with an opening9, through which the fabrics can be passed in `removing them from orplacing them in the cylinder, and at one end of the opening 9 a verticalsupporting-strip 10 is fixed to the vreceptacle or tub to provide'for,the attach- 'ment of a wringing-machine to vthe tub in 4such a positionthat it will be convenient for the attendant to wring the clothes asthey are removed from the cylinder of the machine.

The cylinder? of my washing-machine consistsl of two flat concentricheadsll 11 and a series of' individual longitudinal bars l2 13, whichare arranged, in a circle around the concentric heads and secured in afixed manner directly thereto. These longitudinal bars are spaced atsuitable intervals aroundthe heads of the cylinder, and they arearranged with their angles facing toward the axis of the cylinder, so asto present a roughened or corrugated surface, which exerts a rubbingaction on the fabrics and facilitates the operation of washing the same.

The angularly-arranged bars 12 of the r0- IOO tary cylinder are eachmade of asingle piece and continuousfrom one head of the cylinder vtothe other; but the bars 13 are each made in three parts, the two endparts or members of which bars are much shorter than the middle members,and said end members are fixed directly to the heads of the cylinder Toone of these short members of each bar one end of the longer middlemember of said bar is hinged by strap-hinge 14, preferably of metal,whose longitudinal axis is at right angles to the plane of rotation ofthe cylinder, for a purpose hereinafter described, and the opposite endof said middle member of the bar is rabbeted to fit a correspondingrabbet on the outer end of the other end member of said bar, wherebywhen the middle member is folded its rabbet rests on the rabbet of theshort end member, and the three members of the bar are thus arranged inline with each other to form 4a practically continuous bar, the free'end of the middle memberbeing confined or held in place by means of asliding angular sleeve 17, which fits over the lapped meeting ends ofthe middle member and one of the short end members. In practice three orfour (more or less) number of adjoining bars 13 of the cylinder areconstructed in this manner, and said bars are adapted to be `turned toan elevated or raised position when the sleeves thereof have been adjusted to release the outer unconfined ends of the bars, whereby anopeningis made or provided in one side of the rotary cylinder ofsutlicient dimensions to permit of the ready introduction or removal ofthe fabrics. The hinges of the adjustable bars 13 are located in such apoint of the length of the cylinder as to lie beyond one end of theopening in the tub or receptacle, and thus when the bars 13 are raisedthey assume an inclined position, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, whichobviatcs the danger of the bars dropping back into a horizontal positionin the tub while the operationof removing or replacing the fabrics isbeing carried on.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The cover of the tub orreceptacle is removed and the cylinder turned so that the sectionalhinged bars 13 thereof are opposite said opening. The sleeves on thesectional bars are adjusted to release the outer unhinged ends of thesectional bars, and the latter are raised by hand to thevertically-inclined positions indicated. These hinged bars extend orproject through the opening in the tub or vessel, impinge against theside edges and one end edge of said opening in the tub, and as theirhinges are at right angles to the plane of rotation of the cylinder,when said bars are adjusted as described, the cylinder cannot turn orrotate, which is highly desirable when placing the fabrics in orremoving them from the cylinder. After the fabrics have been placed inthe cylinder the hinged bars are lowered and secured in place to form apart of the cylinder, and the latter is rotated by turning thecrank-handle to agitate the contents thereof and subject them to therubbing action of the roughened or corrugated interior surface of thecylinder. I have found by practical experiments that a cylinderconstructed in this manner is exceedingly efficient in operation, as theclothes are thoroughly and expeditiously cleansed within avery shortspace of time and with comparatively little effort.

I do not confine myself to the precise details of construction and formand proportion of parts herein shown and described as an embodiment ofmy invention, as I am aware that slight changes therein can be madewithout departing from the spirity of my invention. j

In practice I taper each hinged member of the -bar 13 slightly near itsouter' end, so as to prevent displacement of the sleeve when it isadjusted over the lap-joint between said hinged member and the short endmember, to which the hinged member is connected by said sleeve, and onsaid short member I provide a xed strap to limit the movement of thesleeve on said short member.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a washing-machine, the rotary cylinder consisting of the heads,the longitudinal continuous bars fixed thereto, and the sectional bars,said sectional bars having members which are fixed to the heads of thecylinder and other members which are hinged to the fixed members, saidhinged members being confined at their free ends, when they liesubstantially parallel with the axis of the cylinder, by suitablefastening devices, whereby the series of sectional bars are adapted toprovide an opening for the introduction or removal of fabrics when theyare raised, and to form a part of the cylinder when closed and locked inposition, substantially as described.

2. In a washing-machine, the rotary cylinder consisting `of the heads,the continuous longitudinal bars fixed thereto, and the'sectionallongitudinal bars having the end members thereof likewise fixed to saidheads, the middle member of each sectional bar being hinged to one ofthe end members, while the unconfined end of said middle member isadapted to be confined in line with the two end members ot' said bar bya sliding sleeve which fits over the meeting lapped ends of the middleand end members, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NORMAN D. OLIPHANT.

Witnesses:

GEo. W. WILEY, FRANK J. BUx'roN.

IOO

IlO

